T O the School of the Fine Arts of Yale University credit is due for this book on the shape of the Greek vase. When the discovery was made that the design forms of this pottery were strictly dynamic and it became apparent that an analysis of a sufficient number of vase examples would be equivalent to the recovery of the technical methods of Greek designers of the classic age, William Sergeant Kendall, Dean of the Yale School of the Fine Arts, immediately recognized its importance and offered his personal service and that of the University to help in the arduous task of gathering reliable material for a volume. After the investigation of the shape of the Greek vase was begun the two great American Museums, the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of New York City, through the curators of their departments of Greek art, Dr. L. D. Caskey and Miss G. M. A. Richter, volunteered their services in furthering the work. Most of the vase examples in the book were measured and drawn by the staffs of these Museums, which readily gave permission for their publication. Dr. Caskey, during the past year, has devoted almost all his time to a critical examination of the entire collection of the Greek vases in the Museum of Fine Arts with the result that he now has a book nearly ready for publication. He is especially equipped for a research of this character, because of the fact that in addition to his attainments as a Greek scholar, he has had much archaeological experience in the field at Athens and elsewhere. JAY HAMBIDGE |